EVE
CLERK’S
OFFICE
NOV
12
2008
OFFICE
OF THE
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
STATE OF
ILLINOIS
STATE
OF
ILLINOIS
Pollution
Control
Board
Lisa
Madigan
ATTORNEY
GENERAL
November
6, 2008
John
T.
Therriault,
Assistant Clerk
qL
Illinois
Pollution
Control
Board
James
R.
Thompson
Center, Ste.
11-500
100
West Randolph
Chicago,
Illinois
60601
Re:
People
v.
James Buysee
Dear Clerk:
Enclosed
for filing please
find
the original
and
ten copies
of
a
Notice
of Filing,
Entry
of
Appearance
and Complaint
in regard
to
the
above-captioned
matter. Please
file the
originals
and
return file-stamped
copies
to
me
in the
enclosed,
self-addressed
envelope.
Thank
you for
your
cooperation
and
consideration.
Very truly
yours,
Andrew
J. icholas
Environmental
Bureau
500 South
Second
Street
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
(217)
782-9031
AJN/pk
Enclosures
500 South
Second
Street,
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
• (217)
782-1090 •
TTY: (877) 844-5461
• Fax: (217)
782-7046
100 West
Randolph
Street,
Chicago, Illinois
60601
• (312)
814-3000 •TTY:
(800)
964-3013
• Fax: (312) 814-3806
BEFORE THE
ILLINOIS POLLUTION
CONTROL BOARD
PEOPLE OF
THE
STATE
OF
)
ILLINOIS,
)
Complainant,
vs.
)
PCB No.
)
(Enforcement
- Water)
JAMES BUYSEE,
)
dibla
J &
B Landscaping,
)
Respondent.
NOTICE
OF FILING
To:
James D. Buysee
J &
B
Landscaping
“U
2
2008
31
Shaffer Drive
o
iLL1IOISd
P.O.
Box
398
poutiOn
COfltcolat
Coal
Valley,
IL 61240
PLEASE
TAKE
NOTICE that on this date
I
mailed for filing with
the Clerk of the
Pollution
Control Board of the State of Illinois, a COMPLAINT,
a copy of which
is
attached hereto
and
herewith served upon you. Failure
to
file
an
answer
to
this Complaint within
60 days
may have
severe consequences. Failure
to answer
will
mean that all allegations in this
Complaint will
be
taken as if admitted for purposes
of
this
proceeding. If you have any questions
about this
procedure, you should contact the hearing officer assigned
to this proceeding,
the
Clerk’s
Office
or an
attorney.
1
FURTHER,
please take
notice
that financing
may
be available,
through
the
Illinois
Environmental
Facilities Financing
Act, 20
ILCS 3515/1
(2006),
to
correct the
pollution
alleged
in
the
Complaint
filed
in
this
case.
Respectfully
submitted,
PEOPLE
OF THE
STATE
OF
ILLINOIS
LISA
MADIGAN,
Attorney
General
of the
State
of Illinois
MATTHEW
J.
DUNN,
Chief
Environmental
Enforcement/Asbestos
Andrew
J.
N holas
Assistant
Attorney
General
Environmental
Bureau
500 South
Second
Street
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
217/782-9031
Dated: November
6,
2008
2
CERTIFICATE
OF
SERVICE
I hereby certify that
I did on November
6, 2008,
send by certified mail,
with
postage
thereon fully prepaid,
by depositing
in a United
States Post Office
Box a true and
correct copy
of
the following instruments
entitled
NOTICE
OF
FILING,
ENTRY OF
APPEARANCE
and
COMPLAINT:
To:
James D.
Buysee
J &
B
Landscaping
31
Shaffer Drive
P.O.
Box
398
Coal Valley,
IL 61240
and the
original and ten copies
by
First Class Mail
with postage
thereon fully prepaid
of the
same foregoing instrument(s):
To:
John T.
Therriault, Assistant
Clerk
Illinois Pollution
Control
Board
James
R. Thompson Center
Suite
11-500
100 West Randolph
Chicago,
Illinois
60601
An
rew
J.
NichØI’as
Assistant
Attor(iey General
This
filing
is
submitted on recycled
paper.
BEFORE
THE
ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CONTROL
BOARDRECEVED
CLERX’S
OFF1CE
PEOPLE
OF THE STATE
OF
)
ILLINOIS,
)
UV
I L
2008
STATE
OF
ILUNOIS
Complainant,
)
Pollution
Control
Board
vs.
)
PCB No.
0]
)
(Enforcement
- Water)
JAMES
BUYSEE,
)
dibla J &
B Landscaping,
)
Respondent.
ENTRY
OF APPEARANCE
On
behalf of the Complainant,
PEOPLE
OF THE
STATE OF
ILLINOIS, ANDREW
J.
NICHOLAS, Assistant
Attorney
General
of
the State
of Illinois, hereby
enters his
appearance
as
attorney
of record.
Respectfully
submitted,
PEOPLE OF THE
STATE OF ILLINOIS,
LISA
MADIGAN
Attorney General
of the
State of
Illinois
MATTHEWJ. DUNN,
Chief
Environmental
Enforcement/Asbestos
Litigation
‘
BY
Assistant
Attorney General
500
South Second
Street
Springfield,
Illinois 62706
217/782-9031
Dated:
November 6, 2008
PEOPLE
OF THE STATE
OF
ILLINOIS,
Complainant,
v.
)
PCB No.
)
(Water-Enforcement)
Respondent.
)
t3V
‘
2
200B
COMPLAINT
Complainant,
PEOPLE
OF
THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,
by
LISA
MADIGAN,
Attorney
General of the
State of
Illinois,
complains of Respondent,
JAMES
BUYSEE,
d/b/a J
&
B
LANDSCAPING,
as
follows:
COUNT I
WATER POLLUTION
1.
This Complaint
is brought
by the Attorney
General on her
own motion and at
the
request of the Illinois
Environmental Protection
Agency
(“Illinois EPA”),
pursuant
to the
terms
and provisions
of Section 31 of the
Illinois
Environmental
Protection
Act
(“Act”),
415 ILCS
5/31
(2006).
2.
The Illinois EPA is
an agency of the
State of Illinois
created
by the Illinois
General
Assembly
in Section 4 of the Act,
415
ILCS
5/4 (2006), and charged,
inter alia,
with the
duty
of
enforcing
the
Act.
3.
This Complaint
is
brought
pursuant to Section
31
of
the
Act, 415 ILCS 5/31
(2006),
after
providing
the
Respondent
with notice and the opportunity
for
a meeting with the
Illinois
EPA.
BEFORE
THE ILLINOIS
POLLUTION
CONTROL
BOARD
)
)
)
)
JAMES
BUYSEE,
d/bla
J & B LANDSCAPING,
4.
James Buysee (“Respondent”)
is a
landscape
contractor
doing business
as
J & B
Landscaping
(“J
& B”). J
& B
is
located at Route 6 and Niabi Road approximately two
miles
north of Coal Valley, Rock Island County, Illinois (“site”).
5.
On
October
5, 2006, the Illinois EPA conducted an inspection of the site.
6.
On October 5, 2006, the Illinois
EPA
observed what appeared
to be a
green, dried
hydroseed
mixture that had
been dumped on the bank of Shaffer Creek, a tributary to the Rock
River. A trail of the green mixture flowing
to the creek was noted.
7.
The Respondent uses
a
200 gallon
tank to apply the
hydroseed mixture during
landscaping operations.
At the end of each operation, approximately 20 gallons of the mixture
are leftover in the tank. The leftover mixture is dumped onto the bank and into Shaffer Creek.
8.
On information and belief, the Respondent has been dumping leftover hydroseed
at
his site since
approximately
1990.
9.
A sample of the green dried material was collected
and analysis showed the
presence of the pesticide
dichioro-diphenyl-trichioroethane
(“DDT”) at 17 parts
per billion
Qppb”) or
micrograms/kilogram
(“ug/Kg”), the DDT
derivative; dichioro-diphenyl
dichloroethylene (“DDE”) at 16 ppb,
and aroclor-1248
at
320
ppb.
10. DDT use was banned in the United States on December 31, 1972 by the
United
States
Environmental Protection Agency
(“U.S.
EPA”).
11. DDE
is
a
derivative
of
DDT
and
is also banned for
use
in the United States.
12. Aroclor is a
polychiorinated
biphenyl (“PCB”). It is listed as a
hazardous substance
under
the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response Compensation and
Liability
Act
(“CERCLA”).
2
13.
Section 12 of the Act, 415 ILCS
5/12
(2006), provides in pertinent
part that:
No
person shall:
a.
Cause or threaten or allow
the discharge of any
contaminants into the environment
in any State
so
as
to
cause or tend
to cause water pollution in Illinois, either
alone
or
in
combination with matter from other
sources,
or so as
to
violate regulations or
standards adopted by the Pollution
Control Board
under this Act;
***
d.
Deposit any contaminants
upon the land in such place
and
manner as
to create a water pollution hazard;
***
14. The hydroseed mixture is
a
“contaminant”
as
that term is
defined by the Act.
Section
3.165 of the Act,
415
ILCS
5/3.165 (2006) provides:
“Contaminant’ is any solid, liquid, or
gaseous
matter, any
odor, or any
form of energy, from whatever source.
15.
The Defendant “released” the hydroseed mixture into the environment
as
that
term
is
defined by
the Act. Section 3.395 of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/3.395 (2006) provides in pertinent
part:
“Release”
means
any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting,
emptying,
discharging,
injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or
disposing into the environment. .
***
16.
Section
3.545
of the Act, 415 ILCS
5/3.545 (2006)
provides:
“Water pollution” is such alteration of the physical, thermal,
chemical,
biological
or radioactive properties of any waters of the
State, or
such discharge
of any contaminant into any waters of the
State, as
will or is likely
to create a nuisance or render such waters
3
harmful
or detrimental or injurious
to public
health,
safety
or
welfare,
or to domestic,
commercial,
industrial, agricultural,
recreational,
or other
legitimate
uses, or
to
livestock,
wild animals,
birds,
fish, or
other
aquatic
life.
17.
Section 3.550 of
the Act, 415 ILCS
3.550
(2006)
provides:
“Waters” means
all accumulations
of water,
surface and
underground,
natural,
and
artificial,
public and
private, or parts
thereof,
which are
wholly or partially within,
flow through,
or
border
upon this State.
18. By causing
or allowing
the discharge
of the hyrdroseed
mixture into
Shaffer
Creek, which
is “waters” of the
State, the Respondent
has
caused water pollution
in the State
of
Illinois,
and thereby violated
Section 12(a)
of the
Act,
415
ILCS 5/12(a)
(2006).
19.
By dumping the hyrdroseed
mixture
on the bank
of Shaffer Creek, the
Respondent
has deposited
“contaminants”
in
such place
and manner
so
as
to create a water
pollution
hazard,
and thereby violated
Section 12(d)
of the Act,
415
ILCS
5/12(d)
(2006).
PRAYER
FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE,
Complainant,
the
PEOPLE
OF THE STATE
OF ILLiNOIS,
respectfully
request
that the Board
enter
an order against the
Respondent,
JAMES BUYSEE:
A.
Authorizing
a hearing in this matter
at which
time
the Respondent
will be
required
to
answer
the allegations herein;
B.
Finding that
Respondent
has violated the
Act and regulations
as alleged
herein;
C.
Ordering
Respondent
to cease and
desist from any further
violations
of
the
Act
and
associated
regulations;
D.
Assessing
against
Respondent
a civil penalty
of fifty thousand
dollars
($50,000)
for
each
violation of the
Act, and
an
additional penalty
of ten thousand
dollars
($10,000)
for
each
4
day
during which
each violation has continued
thereafter; and
E.
Granting such other relief
as the Board may deem appropriate.
COUNT II
OPEN DUMPING
VIOLATIONS
1-12. Complainant
realleges and incorporates
herein by reference paragraphs 1 through
12 of Count I as paragraphs 1 through
12 of this Count II.
13. Section 21
of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/21
(2006), provides in pertinent part that:
No
person
shall:
(a)
Cause or allow the
open
dumping
of any waste.
(e)
Dispose, treat, store
or
abandon any
waste, or transport any
waste into this
State
for disposal,
treatment,
storage
or
abandonment, except
at a site
or facility which meets
the
requirements of this
Act
and
of
regulations and standards
thereunder.
***
(p)
In violation of subdivision
(a) of
this Section,
cause
or
allow
the open dumping of
any
waste in
a
manner which results in
any of the following occurrences
at
the dump
site:
(4)
deposition
of waste
in
standing or flowing waters;
***
14. Section
3.185
of the Act, 415 ILCS 5/3.185 (2006),
defines
“disposal”
as follows:
“Disposal”
means the discharge, deposit, injection,
dumping,
spilling, leaking or placing of any
waste
or
hazardous
waste into or on any land or water or into any
5
well
so
that
such waste or hazardous
waste
or any
constituent thereof
may enter the environment or
be emitted
into the air or discharged
into any
waters, including ground
waters.
15. Section 3.305 of the Act, 415
ILCS 5/3.305 (2006),
defines “open dumping”
as
follows:
“Open dumping”
means the
consolidation
of refuse from
one
or more sources at
a disposal site that does not fulfill
the
requirements of
a
sanitary
landfill.
16. Section 3.385 of the Act, 415
ILCS
5/3.385
(2006),
defines “refuse” as
follows:
“Refuse” means
waste.
17.
Section 3.535 of
the Act, 415 ILCS
5/3.535 (2006), defines “waste” in pertinent
part
as
follows:
“Waste” means
any garbage.. .or other discarded material,
including solid,
liquid, semi-solid...
18. By causing or allowing open dumping of leftover hydroseed
mixture at its site,
the
Respondent has caused or allowed the open
dumping
of waste, and thereby violated Section
21(a)
of the
Act,
415 ILCS 5/21(a) (2006).
19. By disposing
leftover
hydroseed mixture
at
its site,
the Respondent disposed of
waste at
a
site or
facility which
does not meet the requirements of the
Act,
and thereby violated
Section 21(e) of the
Act, 415 ILCS
5/21(e) (2006).
20. By spilling
hydroseed
mixture onto the bank and into Shaffer Creek,
the
Respondent caused
or allowed the open dumping
of waste in a manner which results in the
deposition of waste
in standing or flowing
waters,
and thereby violated Section 2l(p)(4) of
the
Act,
415 ILCS 5/2l(p)(4)
(2006).
6
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE,
Complainant, the PEOPLE OF THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS,
respectfully
request
that the Board enter an order against
the
Respondent,
JAMES BUYSEE:
A.
Authorizing
a hearing in this matter at which
time
the
Respondent will be
required
to answer the allegations herein;
B.
Finding
that Respondent has violated the Act and regulations
as alleged herein;
C.
Ordering Respondent to cease and desist from any
further violations of the Act
and
associated
regulations;
D.
Assessing against
Respondent a
civil penalty of
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000)
for
each violation of
the
Act,
and an additional penalty of
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each
day
during which each
violation
has continued
thereafter;
and
E.
Granting such other relief as the Board may deem appropriate.
COUNT III
WATER
QUALITY
VIOLATIONS
1-12. Complainant
realleges and incorporates herein
by
reference paragraphs
1
through
12 of Count I as
paragraphs 1 through 12 of this Count III.
13. Section
302.203 of the Board’s Water Pollution Regulations, 35 Ill. Adm. Code
3 02.203 (2005),
provides in pertinent part:
Waters of the State shall be
free from
sludge
or bottom deposits
floating debris, visible
oil, odor, plant or algal growth,
color
or
turbidity of other than
natural
origin.
14.
The Respondent’s hydroseed
mixture contains floating
debris and
color
of other
than
natural origin.
7
15. By
discharging
bright
green colored
hydroseed
onto
the land
and
into waters
of
the
State, the
Respondent
has
discharged
floating
debris,
and thereby
violated
Section
3
02.203
of the
Board’s
Water Pollution
Regulations,
35 Iii.
Adm.
Code
302.203 (2005).
PRAYER
FOR
RELIEF
WHEREFORE,
Complainant,
the
PEOPLE
OF THE
STATE
OF
ILLiNOIS,
respectfully
request
that
the
Board
enter
an order
against
the
Respondent,
JAMES
BUYSEE:
A.
Authorizing
a hearing
in this
matter at
which time
the Respondent
will
be required
to answer
the allegations
herein;
B.
Finding
that
Respondent
has
violated the
Act and
regulations
as alleged
herein;
C.
Ordering
Respondent
to cease and
desist
from any
further
violations
of
the Act
and
associated
regulations;
D.
Assessing
against
Respondent
a
civil
penalty
of
fifty
thousand
dollars
($50,000)
for
each
violation
of the
Act,
and an
additional
penalty
often
thousand
dollars ($10,000)
for
each
day during
which
each
violation
has continued
thereafter;
and
E.
Granting
such
other
relief
as the
Board
may deem
appropriate.
Respectfully
submitted,
PEOPLE
OF
THE STATE
OF ILLINOIS,
LISA
MADIGAN
Attorney
General
of
the
State of
Illinois,
MATTHEW
J.
DU1’ThJ,
Chief
Environmental
Enforcement/Asbestos
Litigation
Division
BY:__________________
THOMAS
DAVIS,
Chief
Assistant
Attorney
General
Environmental
Bureau
8
Of
Counsel
Andrew 3.
Nicholas
Assistant
Attorney
General
500 South
Second
Street
Springfield,
Illinois
62706
217/782-9031
Dated:
9
